Manage your subscription

MAP stakes its claim where no probe has been before

THE Microwave Anisotropy Probe is a pioneer in more ways than one. Before it could explore the Universe, MAP had to stake out its territory in a patch of space where no probe has been before. This is the L2 Lagrange point, one and a half million kilometres from Earth in the opposite direction to the Sun. There, the gravitational pulls of the Sun and Earth combine to keep the spacecraft in a stable position relative to Earth.

It’s the perfect spot for MAP – far away from any interfering microwaves broadcast by humans, and well outside the Earth’s shadow and magnetic field. Both of these …